resistance hopeless, he
reared a funeral pile, and setting fire to it, threw himself upon it and
perished in the flames.

SARDINIA (682), an island of the Mediterranean, 170 m. long and 75
m. broad, the second largest, Sicily being larger, and to the S. of
Corsica; is since 1859 part of the kingdom of Italy; it has a fruitful
soil, and presents a diversified surface of hill and valley; the chief
export is salt, and there are extensive fisheries; the capital is
Cagliari, in the S.; it is rich in mineral resources, but the
exploitation of these is in a backward state.

SARDIS, capital of ancient Lydia, in Asia Minor, at the foot of
Mount Tmolus, celebrated for its wealth, its trade, and luxury, through
the market-place of which the river Pactolus flowed with its sands of
gold.

SARDOU, VICTORIEN, a popular French playwright, born at Paris; gave
up medicine for literature, and his first successes were "Monsieur Garat"
and "Les Pres Saint-Gervais," both in 1800; from that date his popularity
and wealth began to flow in upon him; his work has been taken up by Sarah
Bernhardt, for whom he wrote "Fedora," "Theodora," and "La Tosca" (1887);
a number of his plays have been translated into English, such as "A Scrap
of Paper," "Diplomacy," &c.; was elected to the Academy in 1877; his
plays are characterised by clever dialogue and stage effects, and an
emotionalism rather French than English; _b_. 1831.

SARMATIANS or SARMATS, an ancient race, embracing several
warlike nomadic tribes, who spoke the Scythian language, and inhabited
the shores of the Black Sea and Eastern Europe as far as the Caucasus;
fought with Mithridates against the Romans; were overwhelmed by the Goths
in the 4th century A.D., and afterwards gradually absorbed by the Slavs.

SARPEDON, the "Nestor" and king of the Lycians, was son of Zeus and
Europa.

SARPI, PAUL, an Italian historian of the monastic order, born at
Venice; was a man of wide attainments and liberal views; was the champion
of the Republic against the Pope; was summoned to Rome, and on his
refusal to obey, excommunicated; his life being in peril he retired into
his monastery, and wrote the "History of the Council of Trent," with
which his name has ever since been associated; he was held in high honour
by the Venetians, and was honoured at his death by a public funeral
(1565-1623).

SARTO, ANDREO DEL (i. e. Andrew, the tailors son), a Florentine
artist; painted in oil and fre